They're back
"Missed me?"
"Quite frankly, no."
"Crap."
And better than ever.
"I haven't seen you this happy since we won the Olympiad last year."
"I haven't been this happy since then."
"That could be why."
But when a new kid butts in
"Now, S intercepted a text between me and L, and now he knows where we meet, and wants to join. He looks so adorable when he pleads, it's hard to say no, to say hello to your newest ally!"
He's not who they think he is.
"S was sabotaging us all this time! But why?"
"We have the answer."
"The Molecular Cluster! Of course! You guys were so close to winning, when L and I beat you!"
Starring:
Massie Block
Massie made eye contact with Ariana. It was emerald against amber, the battle of the gems.
L
"Just stop with the puppy dog look. You're in."
Alicia Rivera
A pair danced into view. Massie recognized Alicia, but it couldn't have been L with her, could it? In this night of backstabbing best friends and mismatched pairs, anything was possible.
Kristen Gregory
"What should I talk to S about?"
"Algebra."
Dylan Marvil
"Will A think I'm fat?"
Claire Lyons
"I never trusted S."
T
"I don't like him!"
L grabbed T by the scruff of the neck and threw him out of the library.
"Never come back to us again," he said, and slammed the door in T's face.
C
"S certainly seems interested in this group."
A
"Are you guys sure about trusting S? I think he's hiding something."
Z
"That little rat! S sabotaged my robot!"
J
"Owwwwww! Lattes burn!"
S
"I hope we'll get along…swimmingly."
Dragon Pictures presents
The Alliance: Sabotaged
L looked her in the eye. "Massie."
"Yes?"
"Has anyone ever told you you're too pretty?"
"No."
"Then I'll be the first."
AMSA Parking Lot, 0800 hours
Massie fluffed her hair and checked her make-up in the mirror of her Latin teacher's Honda. Next to her, Claire applied lip gloss while looking into the mirror of their Bio teacher's car. The staff parking lot was the perfect place for a back-to-school regrouping.
Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire were all there. They were waiting for Z, A, L, T, C, and J.
"In five minutes, they'll be late." Massie muttered.
"Well, you won't have to wait that long," came a voice from behind Massie. She jumped and turned around. L was standing there.
"NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" she yelled, half-laughing.
"Missed me?" L asked.
"Quite frankly, no." Massie said.
"Crap." L muttered.
Then, he tried the praise route with Claire. "You stretched?" he asked.
"You got squished?" she joked.
L swore under his breath. Females.
They went inside. Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire looked for their old puke-green lockers, five in a row next to each other. They were fresh and clean. Massie smiled as she remembered the photographs inside hers; the Pretty Committee laughing and making faces on the beach, Claire and Massie chasing after a huge butterfly kite with Alicia laughing, and Massie in the act of dumping a vanilla ice cream cone on Claire's head.
Now she had new photos in the same purple rhinestone-encrusted frames as last year; Massie and Alicia modeling their best outfits, the Pretty Committee in front of the Hollywood sign in California, then them again in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, then Massie, Alicia, and Claire next to the Big Ben, and finally, a photo of everyone in the Alliance taken by Claire before school ended. That one was going right next to her purple-framed mirror.
Massie had shopped the day before at Staples for school supplies-a purple wire locker shelf, a matching mirror, notebook crate, and cosmetics holder, and twenty colorful patterned notebooks, no two alike. She had also purchased a purple 2" binder, and filled it with purple folders and white lined and quad ruled filler paper. And no school supply shopping spree was complete without a purple pencil case full of purple, blue, black, green, and red pens, and colorful mechanical pencils with ten boxes of replacement leads. She was ready for anything. She had even purchased the new custom-made purple leather Prada messenger bag-both as a backpack and as a between-classes bag.
The bell rang, and the Alliance split up to get to homeroom. Before leaving, Massie spoke to L. "After school in the library?" she asked. L nodded. Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire all ran to room 207 to hang out with their homeroom teacher whom they had known since sixth grade. 207 was also their math room.
In homeroom, there was an unfamiliar boy talking to their teacher. His back was to the door, so Massie couldn't see his face.
The class filed in, and Massie lost track of the boy. Then, she saw him again as the teacher introduced him. When she started to say his name, he looked up from his Rubik's cube and muttered "Call me S."
The bell rang, and Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire filed out of the classroom to their first period class. They all had Bio for first period, but then they split up.
The Library, 1500 hours
Massie flipped through one of her new notebooks-her French one. She had recorded some vocabulary words in it in her sweet, girlish handwriting before she dozed off. French was a new language for Massie-she had taken Latin for her previous two years at AMSA, and Spanish before that. So, she was surprised to find it so easy and natural.
"It looks like Z is going to start off tardy-AGAIN." Massie said. Z was notorious for his tardiness. Last year, he had never once come to their meetings on time. She was hoping he would change this year, but…
Z barreled through the door, followed closely by L. "You have no idea how hard it is to get out of the upper school." L said.
"So, how was your first day of eighth grade? Enjoying the newfound power?" Z asked.
"Not much, no. We got a load of math homework, and I never had so much Bio homework before." Massie said.
"Power comes with a price," L said in his imitation-of-a-wise-man voice. Massie glared at him.
"I figured that out, you know. I'm not an idiot." Massie said.
There was some tension between Massie and L. But only Massie, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, Claire, and L knew why. At the end of last year, Massie and L had been officially dating, but over the summer, the tension had sprung up. Massie had gone through several boyfriends and crushes; Chris Abeley, Derek Harrington, and then Chris again. But she had never really been appreciated by them. L appreciated her brain, not just her looks.
"Hey, space girl! Wake up and pay attention!" Z yelled at Massie. She snapped to attention like a soldier. "What were we discussing?" she asked.
"I'm in so much trouble." Z said.
"Why?" Massie asked.
"If I get sent to the principal's office one more time, I'll be suspended. After that, I'll be expelled." Z muttered.
"What did you do?" Alicia asked.
"Long story, but we've got time. I was in history class, minding my own business, when suddenly the principal calls me to her office, and then says I paintballed a window on the third floor of the lower school and broke it. Which I did not do!" he added hurriedly, trying to clear his name.
Kristen let out a phlegmy laugh. It was obvious that Z hadn't committed the crime. But who had?
Massie's Blackberry Storm began playing Kanye West's Heartless.
How could you be so heartless?
Heartless, heartless heartleeeess…
Kuh-laire! I am never letting you touch my phone again! Massie scrambled to press "talk" before anyone could comment on her ringtone.
"Mom, I really don't want to talk to you right now, OK? Leave me alone until I get home."
"Sure, dear. Whatever." Kendra was ah-bviously not paying a bit of attention to the conversation.
"You'll be home by five, right?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah," Massie lied. It was four-thirty now, and she still needed at least an hour to talk. Do the math. Like her mother would even care.
AMSA Parking Lot, 0800 hours
Alicia sat down next to her English teacher's red Jeep and began to sob. L sat next to her.
"What's wrong? Is it my fault?" he asked.
"No. I failed my Algebra final, and my mom said that if I failed, she'd take away my credit card." Alicia sobbed. L patted her on the back, looking awkward.
"Alicia, a credit card isn't everything. You should be glad you have your friends." L consoled her. She wailed louder. He hugged her. "You'll always have me," he whispered.
Massie had seen this all; the romantic exchange, the hug…the little whisper. She was steaming. She and L were officially over.
Massie marched over to L and Alicia and pried them off each other.
"L, you…traitorous little monster! I trusted you, and you... you…you betrayed me!" Massie yelled.
Then, she woke up.
Library, 1500 hours
Massie hadn't gotten over the dream-last time she had had a dream concerning L, it had been a prophecy- so she was ticked off when L showed up with S in tow.
"What is he doing here?" Massie stage-whispered to L.
"He intercepted one of our text message conversations, and he wants to join. I think we should give him a probationary chance." L said.
"That's the problem with you. You're a pushover." Massie said.
"Aw, come on." L pleaded.
Massie sighed audibly, then looked at S. The look in his eyes could melt stone.
"Fine." She forced the word out.
L looked at S. "Stop with the puppy dog look. You're IN!"
S smiled. Massie thought there was something evil in that smile…
The rest of the Alliance flooded in. Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire nabbed seats next to Massie, and A, Z, S, C, T, L, and J sat in the remaining cushy armchairs. Z whispered in Massie's ear "Who the hell is he?" and pointed at S.
Massie got up. She motioned for S to stand too.
"This is S, for those of you who don't know. Now, S intercepted a text between me and L, and now he knows where we meet, and wants to join. He looks so adorable when he pleads, it's hard to say no, so say hello to your newest ally!"
"He's got full privileges?" A asked, nearly choking on his sip of Vitamin Water Focus.
"Hell no! He's on a probationary term. He has to obey whatever commands any of us give him, and…he has to be the donut boy's assistant."
S muttered some unprintable obscenities under his breath.
"Life sucks, get over it." Massie said.
"I hope we'll get along…swimmingly." S said, looking at the whole group. There was something sinister in that pause that Massie couldn't quite put her finger on…
The Alliance slowly trickled out. Massie, Dylan, Kristen, and Claire stood up. Massie looked at Alicia. "Are you coming?" she asked.
"One minute. I'll catch up."
"OK."
Alicia waited for Massie to leave the room, then she began fake-sobbing. L couldn't tell the difference.
"What's wrong? Is it my fault?" he asked.
"No," Alicia sniffled. "I failed my Algebra final, and my mom said that if I failed, she'd take away my Visa." Alicia had, in fact, gotten an A- on the final exam.
"Alicia, a credit card isn't everything. You should be glad you still have your friends…and me." L said, hugging her. Alicia sniffled again, and then half-smiled.
Massie had been sent to find Alicia so that they could all go home. All she saw was L hugging Alicia.
She stormed over to them, and pried them apart.
"Alicia, you are hereby banished from the Pretty Committee. L, how could you do this?" Massie asked.
"I was just consoling her. She failed her final and she's going to lose her credit card!"
"She got an A on that! You actually expect me to believe your BS!? How could you sink so low?"
Massie grabbed Alicia's hand and stormed out of the library. She was fuming, and she could never trust Alicia again.
AMSA Corridor, 2nd floor, Upper School, 0800 hours
L paused on his way to Calculus, his attention caught by a flyer.
ANNUAL AMSA HALLOWEEN DANCE, it said.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31ST, 8:00 PM, UPPER SCHOOL CAFETERIA. BRING A DATE, A FRIEND, OR JUST GO FOR THE FUN OF IT!
L sighed. A few days ago, he would have asked Massie, but now…
He tapped Z on the shoulder. "Hey, Z, are you going to the dance?"
"It's a better idea than trick-or-treating," Z joked. "I just wish I had someone to go with…" he sighed.
"Didn't you hear about me and Massie splitting?" L asked.
"You and MASSIE?!?!?!?!?!" Z spluttered.
"Yeah. Why so shocked?"
"No reason, no reason at all." Z said. Now he had a date…
L shrugged. "Whatever."
AMSA Hallway, 2nd floor, Lower School, 0800 hours
Massie stopped by the same sign as L had. She was definitely going to the dance, as were Kristen, Dylan, and Claire. But who would be her date? She'd broken up with L, so…
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Z.
"Hey, long time no see! What brings you to the Lower School?" she asked.
"Lunchtime Hallway Patrol Duty. But I wanted to ask you-would you go to the Halloween Dance with me?" Z ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more. It was already a mess, but there was room to make it worse.
"Of course! See you at 7:30 on Halloween, in the Library?"
"Yep."
Massie grinned, and walked to class with a spring in her step.
Girl's Bathroom, 3rd floor, Lower School, 1900 hours, Halloween night
Massie twisted the last lock of hair around the curling tongs pinched, and let go. A curl sprung out. She smiled. Perfect.
Massie was dressed in a purple and gold Diane Von Furstenberg spaghetti-strap dress, with purple Marc Jacobs kitten heels. She had been rated a 10.0 by the Pretty Committee Minus Alicia.
Claire touched up her Krispy Kreme gloss. She was dressed in a black Lauren by Ralph Lauren wrap dress, with black Marc Jacobs pumps.
Dylan was dressed in a red kimono with black leggings. She turned around, checking her perfect chopsticked bun in the mirror.
Kristen was in a black Calvin Klein halter dress, borrowed from Massie, and borrowed black Prada wedge heels. Her blonde hair was flowing down her back.
Massie clapped her hands. "We'll be meeting our dates in the library in half an hour. Is everyone ready?"
"Do you think A will think I'm fat?" Dylan asked.
"No!" Massie and Claire said at the same time.
"Do you know what I could talk about with S?" Kristen asked.
"Algebra." Massie joked.
"It was a bad idea to go t o the dance with T, right?" Claire asked.
"Kind of…" Massie trailed off. She checked her watch.
"Ten minutes to get to the Library. Kuh-laire and Kristen, NO RUNNING! You're in dresses, not jeans."
The Pretty Committee Minus Alicia walked out of the bathroom and down the hall, then down the stairs, and down another hallway to the Library.
Z, S, T, and A were waiting there for them. Z was the only one in a suit, an Armani. A was in a black sweater vest and an AMSA dress uniform shirt. S was in his AMSA dress uniform, and T was in jeans and a t-shirt. Massie rolled her eyes. She paired up with Z, and together, they led the way to the Upper School cafeteria.
Upper School Cafeteria, 2000 hours, Halloween Night
L was waiting for Z by the door to the cafeteria. He saw him approach with-but surely not! Z wouldn't have come to the dance with MASSIE! And yet, there it was, plain as day. An impossibility, but it was there, right in front of him.
L turned around and walked into the cafeteria. He was fuming because Z hadn't even told him a single word! He paused and listened to the song playing.
You fight, you break up.
You kiss, you make up.
L rolled his eyes. Music was so unfair sometimes.
Upper School Cafeteria, 2100 hours, Halloween night
Massie and Z were slow-dancing to the last song of the night. They had both been avoiding L all night, something that was hard to do in a small high school cafeteria. Massie and Z were the only Pretty Committee pair still together. S and Kristen had broken up, deciding that they "clashed". S was over by the vending machines, and Kristen was chatting with some of her Algebra for Nerds classmates. T had been unbearably rude to Claire, and he was over by the snack table. Claire was sitting on the windowsill, rubbing her toes. Dylan and A had nothing to talk about, and had decided that this was a bad pair. Dylan was dancing with another guy, and A had hightailed it the moment they split.
A pair danced into view. Massie recognized Alicia, but it couldn't have been L with her, could it? In this night of backstabbing best friends and mismatched pairs, anything was possible.
L, for it was indeed him, dropped a note on the floor as he danced past Massie and Z, and kicked it toward her. She picked it up and read it.
Massie,
I messed up, and I want to get back together. Will you give me a second chance? If you will, meet me in the hallway behind the cafeteria in the Upper School in 15 minutes.
L
Massie looked at Z. "I have to go. Bad sushi."
She ran to the back hallway, and waited there for L. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around. It was indeed L.
"Massie, I'm sorry. I fell into Alicia's trap. I'll never trust her again. Would you please give a foolish teenager another chance?" L asked.
Massie considered. L had been nice to her, and Alicia had trapped him cunningly that day, so…
"I will. Would you like to dance?"
"My pleasure." He led her back into the cafeteria for one last dance. Before they entered the cafeteria, L turned to her.
He looked her in the eye. "Massie."
"Yes?"
"Has anyone ever told you you're too pretty?"
"No."
"Then I'll be the first."
The Library, 1500 hours
"I got back together with L, and Alicia is back on a probationary basis." Massie leaned back in her squashy armchair. "Everyone's happy."
There were noises of assent from the Alliance.
Z spoke. "I had a robotics competition on Saturday, and when our turn came, S activated the robot, but it didn't work. Any idea how that could have happened?"
"Was there any visible damage to the robot?" Massie asked.
"No. That's the funny thing. Nothing was missing, nothing seemed to be broken…so what happened?"
Massie noticed S start blushing. She listed him as a suspect.
"Was S tinkering with the robot beforehand?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, but he told me he was just changing the picture it would project. He thought that an optical illusion would be more impressive."
"I think I know who did this." Massie murmured.
"What?" Z asked.
"Nothing." Massie said.
"S certainly seems interested in this group." C said, leaning back in her armchair.
J ran in, spilling a latte all over himself. "Owwwwww! Lattes burn! Did I miss anything?"
"Someone sabotaged Z's robot at a competition on Saturday," Kristen said.
J wiped some of the scalding hot latte off himself. "Yeah, he's also sitting on his lazy butt here while he's SUPPOSED to be helping me with the donuts and crap."
"Yeah, I noticed that. S, we have a 3-strike system. You break the rules 3 times, you're out. This is your first strike. Don't let there be a second. As a punishment, you will be forced to sit out for the rest of this meeting." Massie said.
As soon as S was out of the room, T moaned "I don't like him!"
L grabbed T by the scruff of the neck and threw him out of the library.
"Never come back to us again," he said, and slammed the door in T's face.
He returned to his seat. Massie stared at him. "Since when did you have anger issues?"
"Since when did you have a three-strike system?" L asked.
"If you were as good at avoiding obstacles as you are at avoiding questions, maybe you wouldn't be so awkward." Massie jibed.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." L said.
"Quit arguing, you two!" Claire yelled.
"We weren't arguing, Kuh-laire. We were flirt- I mean having a conversation." Massie caught herself before she admitted to flirting.
"What-EVER." Claire muttered.
The meeting was obviously over. The Alliance trickled out in small groups. Massie made Alicia go with the rest of the PC so that she couldn't make L cheat on Massie again.
The Library, 0800 hours
Massie broke the news to the PC before the rest of the Alliance arrived.
"I think S has been sabotaging us. We have to get rid of him. Any ideas?"
"Well, he'll be here soon-failure to comply with his duties as assistant donut boy part 1, and late to a meeting part 2. The two other strikes." Alicia said.
Massie made a mental note to remove Alicia from probationary status and put her on full member status. This was one smart idea.
"I never trusted S," Claire said, biting into a gummy worm.
A arrived just then. He had the same opinions as Massie.
"Are you guys sure about trusting S? I think he's hiding something." A dropped his AMSA backpack onto the last remaining armchair. Massie filled him in on their plan to get rid of S. Just as she finished, S himself walked through the door, followed by L, C, and Z.
"Strikes two and three. You're out, S." Massie said.
"Huh?"
"Failure to comply with orders and late to a meeting. Both are getting you off probationary status, and out of the Alliance. Good-bye." Massie smiled evilly. S turned on his heel and left without arguments.
L sat down next to Massie grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"I haven't seen you this happy since we won the Olympiad last year." Massie said.
"I haven't been this happy since then."
"That could be why."
"Why did you get rid of S?" Z asked.
Massie explained about how S had been sabotaging them.
"That little rat! S sabotaged my robot!" Z exclaimed.
"S was sabotaging us all this time! But why?" L wondered.
A voice came from the doorway. "We have the answer."
"The Molecular Cluster! Of course! You guys were so close to winning, when L and I beat you!" Massie exclaimed.
"Yes. We never got over losing. So, we hired S as soon as he came so that he could sabotage you. You would've lost your place as the school top team, and we would have taken it." A thin, pale girl with black hair and emerald green eyes spoke. Her name, Massie knew, was Ariana Morrison. Before Massie, Ariana had been the school's alpha.
Massie made eye contact with Ariana. It was emerald against amber, the battle of the gems. And everyone knew who would win. Massie was the ultimate alpha. She was superior to everyone, and everyone knew it. She would trample Ariana.
"I
am not a fool, Ariana." Massie said. "I would have figured it out
even if your little inside man hadn't
proved
his ineptness by letting Z see him sabotaging the robot. But thanks
for sending an idiot. That helped."
Ariana was speechless.
Everything was going just the way Massie wanted it too. But Ariana
had a trick up her sleeve. The last thing Massie experienced was a
sharp pain in her shoulder. Then, she blacked out.
The Nurse's Office, 1600 hours
Massie awoke slowly. She felt pressure on her left shoulder. She saw shapes swimming over her. She blinked, and L's face came into focus, surrounded by the rest of the Alliance.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You blacked out. Ariana had a dagger. She stabbed you in the shoulder. She missed your heart, but it was pretty deep." L said.
Massie felt her shoulder. There was a rough bandage over it that she could feel under her uniform t-shirt.
"You're heavier than you look." L added.
"You…"
"Z and I carried you to the nurse after you passed out. For someone who starves herself, you weigh a lot."
"Dude, did you ever know that it's insensitive to comment on a girl's weight?" Z punched L playfully.
"Crap. Sorry." L said.
"You didn't know. Apology accepted. What happened to Ariana, and S?"
"Ariana was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon, and without her the group broke up. S was suspended because A's fingerprint evidence linked him to the paintball incident, and for sabotaging his own team in robotics." Z said.
"So you're off the hook for the paintball thingy, right?" Massie asked.
"Yeah." Z grinned.
Massie smiled. "Could you guys leave me alone with the PC for a few minutes? I need to catch up."
"Sure. Guys, come on."
Pretty soon, only Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire were left. Massie looked at them with genuine worry in her eyes.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"About 45 minutes. Don't worry, there are no rumors of your death circulating. Nobody even saw the incident except for us."
"Great."
The nurse came over to Massie's bed.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fine." Massie said.
"Great. You can go home now. You can tell your parents yourself, because I don't have their number."
Massie got out of bed and walked out of the office with the Pretty Committee in tow.
Epilogue
The next few weeks were a blur of excited conversations with LBRs for Massie. She needed to stop some of the rumors that had started after her collapse. She left the ones that said she had been in a fight before collapsing. Those made her look brave.
The Alliance met every day in the library. They never again made the mistake of allowing new kids to join, and they kept an eye out for the signs that the Molecular Cluster was reforming. There were none.
SNEAK PREVIEW FOR THE ALLIANCE 3!!!!!
They're split apart
"I don't want this to be the end."
"It won't be."
But it's not the end of them yet
Massie scribbled frantically on a piece of paper, then showed it to the rest of the Pretty Committee.
"All I see is a bunch of lines, rectangles, and dots." Claire said.
"Wrong! It's my plan to get back together with L!" Massie said.
And they'll be back…together.
Massie smiled. "Never underestimate a girl."
"I never did. But wasn't the breaking-and-entering bit a little too much?" L asked.
Starring:
Massie Block
"I'll miss you, L. Good luck."
L
"I never realized how wonderful you were until you were gone."
Alicia Rivera
"Gawd, Massie. There's a campus out there full of hot guys. Find another L!"
Dylan Marvil
"Sometimes Alicia's blunt as a spoon. Massie, I don't think you can ever replace L. Call him, or text him or something."
Kristen Gregory
"Massie, what you are experiencing is a sort of dependence on L. You need to forget him."
Claire Lyons
"Don't worry, Massie. I would never attempt to steal L from you. Frankly, I don't know what you see in him."
C
"Massie! Fancy running into you here! How's high school treating you?"
A
A smiled.
"Did you always look like a vampire when you smiled, or is it new?" Massie asked
Z
"I've done this a hundred times before." Z thought to himself. He turned the ignition, put the car in reverse, and…crashed into the ditch across the street from his house.
J
"Who will I be donut boy to now?!?!?!?!?"
Dragon Pictures Presents
The Alliance: Separate Lives
Coming soon to theaters everywhere